Methods, systems and apparatus for virtual event initiated electronic communications

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems and apparatus are disclosed for electronically communicating a change in the state of an object (“object information”) or player (“player information”) in an interactive, networked virtual game (“game”) to a participant who is not then currently interacting with the game (“remote player”). The remote player may also actively solicit such information (“poll move”), and/or may passively receive such information as a condition changes (“event-based push mode”) and/or may receive such information at predetermined intervals after a condition has changed (“time-based push mode”). Methods, systems and apparatus are also disclosed for a remote player to electronically communicate to the game at least one play instruction in response to object information or player information (“responsive play instruction”) pay or for a remote player to self-initiate at least one play instruction without having received object information or player information (“initiated play instruction”). Thus, the remote player remains engaged with the game even when not participating “at the screen”.

Benefit under 35 USC § 119(e) to U.S. provisional application No.61/069,341 is hereby claimed, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With massively multiplayer network games entering the mainstreamcomputing environment, i.e., games not relegated to computer geeks ornerds, in manifestations such as Second Life and Warcraft, a greateramount of participant time is devoted to these “hobbies”. Recent datasupports the anecdotal conclusions that such games are materiallyaffecting the real world lives of the participants due to missed workdays, decreased social interactions with others, adversely modifiedsleep patterns and similar manifestations. From the perspective of thosepersons and entities on the supplier or vendor side of the equation,this type of behavior correlates to increased screen time, which is theobjective of any computer-based business that derives revenue from itsparticipants or partners. However, there are social costs as well.

If the primary business objective is to retain a participant's currentinterest in such games in order to maximize screen time, a secondaryobjective is to retain a participant's future interest in the game ifnot presently interacting with the game. In other words, if you can'tkeep them, then make sure that they come back. However, these objectivesare sometimes at odds. For example, engaging games that are directed tothe first objective are often difficult to leave (the game isintentionally engaging). If one does leave and there is no way ofpausing the entire game (which is true in nearly all multi-playergames), something could happen to the player's virtual interests duringthe time away, or an opportunity to do something in the virtualenvironment may be missed. A prior art solution was to pause the gameplay during such absences, at least with respect to that player.However, that solution would put such player at a disadvantage unlessall other players were similarly affected. Otherwise, the game wouldcontinue without the player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention in one respect relates to methods, systems and apparatusfor electronically communicating a change in the state of an object orplayer in an interactive, networked virtual game (“game”) to aparticipant who is not then currently interacting with the game (“remoteplayer”). Through exploitation of the invention embodiments, remoteplayers need not be linked to the network under which the game operatesin order to receive information concerning the state of at least oneobject in the virtual game (“object information”), or informationconcerning the state of at least one player (“player information”) inthe virtual game in which they are a player, although suchdisassociation is not required. Depending upon the implementations ofthe various invention embodiments, the remote player may also activelysolicit such information (“poll mode”), and/or may passively receivesuch information as a condition changes (“event-based push mode”) and/ormay receive such information at predetermined intervals after acondition has changed (“time-based push mode”). In each of the specifiedinstances, select information concerning the virtual environment isdelivered to the remote player, enabling the remote player to remainengaged with the game, and potentially reentering the same.

The invention in another respect relates to methods, systems andapparatus for a remote player to electronically communicate to theinteractive, networked virtual game at least one play instruction inresponse to object information or player information (“responsive playinstruction”) or for a remote player to self-initiate at least one playinstruction without having received object information or playerinformation (“initiated play instruction”). In this manner, the remoteplayer remains actively engaged with the game even when notparticipating “at the screen” (“virtual player”). As with the receptionof object and/or player information, the degree to which a virtualplayer can assume the role of a player while not directly engaged withthe game is considered a variable within the discretion of the gameoperator or other authoritative figure. Thus, the tools and options madeavailable to the players of the game remains variable depending upon theobjectives of the game and the game operators, as will be discussedbelow. In many embodiments, the nature of the game will determine theparameters of invention exploitation. For instance, in some embodiments,information otherwise deliverable from the game to a remote player maybe restricted until the player pays a premium, reaches a certain levelof achievement, establishes certain alliances, unblocks a communicationsjam instituted by an adverse player, waits, etc. Similar rationale andmetrics can be used with respect to remote player originatedinstructions to the game. With respect to the payment of a premium, forexample, the payment may comprise virtual consideration (e.g., virtualcurrency acquired, earned and/or bartered) and/or actual currency (e.g.,PayPal payment to the game vendor of US dollars); with respect to theattention of a certain level of achievement, for example, theachievement may be related to advancing towards a conclusion during gameplay or the attainment of certain skills; with respect to theestablishment of certain alliances, for example, access to communicationconduits (incoming and/or outgoing) may require a relationship withanother player possessing such assets/abilities; with respect to theunblocking of communication jams, for example, access to communicationconduits (incoming and/or outgoing) may require payment of a premium oraccomplishment of a virtual task; with respect to waiting, for example,it may be necessary for the remote player (and/or some or all otherremote players) to simply wait for a period of time until communicationsare restored, either partially or wholly, as the case may be.

Modes of Communication: While the modes of information and instructioncommunication according to the invention are varied, certain benefitscan be realized by using least mean time reception or transmissionmodes. In many networked virtual games, the ability to timely react to achange in virtual circumstances is rewarded. Thus, both the latencybetween player notification and player reaction are material to thereaction time determination. When a player is actively engaged in thegame, i.e., s/he is not a remote player, the information communicationsand instruction communications take place through the game interface,and are presumptively equal among players (ignoring the very realvariable of ISP to user data speeds). However, a different interfacemust be used with respect to remote players, by definition.

Modes of non-game communication comprise various electroniccommunication means through which informative contact to the remoteplayer can be made. A non-exclusive and non-exhaustive list of suchcommunication means includes Real Simple Syndication (“RSS”) feeds,instant messaging (“IM”) communications, Simple Messaging Service(“SMS”) texting, text-to-speech (“TtS”) voice communications (wirelessor wireline), electronic mail (“email”), and addressable audio/videofeeds over broadcast frequencies or similar technologies. Some of theseelectronic communication means use standardized delivery protocols,which makes widespread communication rather straightforward: knowing aremote player's mobile telephone number is all that is needed to send anSMS text to that person; knowing a remote player's RSS address is allthat is needed to send short communications to that person. However,while a single protocol is used for certain types of communications, aparticularly useful communication means remains segmented intoproprietary protocols, namely, IM.

Unlike SMTP for email or the XML schema for RSS fees, IM protocols aregenerally unique for each network, e.g., AOL/AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, MSNMessenger and Yahoo! Chat. Therefore, it is not possible to use a singleIM server for transmitting and receiving communications or instructions,respectively. Moreover, users of such networks are transparent outsideof the network in which they use. As a consequence, the sender of acommunication must be logged into the network AND have the uniqueaddress of the communication recipient. Embodiments of the inventionaddress this complexity by employing an IM proxy arrangement between thegame API and the network of interest.

The IM proxy arrangement includes a unified presence for at least one IMnetwork, and is operatively linked to the game API in order to obtaininformation that will be the subject of communications to remoteplayers. In this manner, information from the game can be conveyedthrough the at least one IM network. As noted above, the remote player'sIM address is also needed to complete the communication. To enable suchcommunication, each remote player that is interested in at least thepossibility of receiving IM messages makes his/her IM address accessibleby the IM proxy. As a consequence, the IM proxy functions similar to anIM “buddy” or friend on the network, but is instead a portal to otherinformation networks not normally linked to the at least one IM network.As a result of this configuration, information originating from othersources can be ported to IM communications that are specificallydirected to one or more persons.

Beneficially, IM communications are only sent when the recipient isconfirmed to be “on line”. Thus, there is a built-in deliveryverification, unlike alternative communication means that deliver themessage, but cannot virtually guarantee that the recipient has seen thecommunication, presuming that the recipient has not simply walked away(email, SMS text, and voicemail are examples of blind deliveries whereinthe communications are sent and stored regardless of whether therecipient is even engaged with the receiving apparatus).

1. A method for electronically communicating a change in the state of anobject or player in an interactive, networked virtual game to aparticipant who is not then currently interacting with the game's nativeinterface comprising: obtaining information from the participantregarding an object or player of interest; detecting if the participantis not currently interacting with the game's native interface;determining if there has been a change in the state of the object orplayer of interest during a period of time wherein the participant wasnot interacting with the game's native interface; and if there has beena change in the state of the object or player of interest,electronically communicating the change to the participant.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a participant generatedinstruction associated with the communication regarding the change.